Leaderboard

Alex, this particular ad is getting phenomenal traction and yes people will always have their point of view and preference. We felt putting Clark in front of the camera was appropriate and in the current environment hits the right tone. There is a lot of speculation in your post, to be clear Marketing for VRTP and communication is my responsibility and I take tremendous pride in everything we put out, not always one gets it right but our intent is good, your comment about "Clark fronting the media and not Bikash" is a decision that we make internally on which topic is more appropriate and for either myself or Clark to front the cameras as we see fit, it is not that it will only be me or it will only be Clark, all depends on who is available. The voice over is Clark, i can confirm this. I also take note of the comment "Faceless Rake". The only thing i can tell you is that we all are working as hard as possible to get the parks back online responsibly and with appropriate level of consultation and to get people back in the workforce. Some comments here talk about people not liking me personally and that's perfectly fine, when you are in the public eye this is bound to happen, I also give it back as i get it, no excuses for it, if someone makes a derogatory comment about myself or my business and specially if it is unfounded, I will come strong and hard because i can and it is the right thing to do. There was also come commentary here about some backlash we got for handling some situation, this is not true, there was no backlash. Yes i am vocal on social media when i see the need to be, no different to when i stood up to the animal activists and did not back down, I was also prepared for the backlash, threats to my family and anonymous deliveries to my family with more threats, that is the price one has to pay sometimes being in the public eye. I would love to get on here and very transparent but it has been hectic and difficult to do so and i will try to answer or clear up things as much as possible. You all are a bunch of passionate people and i like that a lot and you should say it how it is like i do but also be prepared to receive it as i do. All the best and have a great weekend..... P.S. I am quite a nice person and not as bad as some people make me out to be but I accept whats out there totally. Thanks for the welcome, and yeah happy to sit down for a drink...I am Human i promise you. That's funny, I will give you that

You are always welcome and take care. My best to you my freind.

The Giant Drop has been in testing this morning

regardless of history or personal taste, your continued interactions can only be a positive thing for this forum. Thanks Bikash for sharing.

Whilst that is correct, 2 of the last 3 people confirmed positive are thought to have been last in contact with someone infected 6-7 weeks prior. So either unconfirmed community transmission is occurring, or the incubation period can shift and is not the 2 week yardstick that was being used and can actually be closer to 2 months... either way, that’s a Massive concern when it comes to large gatherings

The whole basis of the ad is to show that they are ready to welcome you back, the tone of his voice, the delivery appeals to the family market who are ready to travel and holiday again. The way its delivered is not in your face, or loud, its a strong but calming voice that is subconsciously telling the market that its all going to be Ok when you come back to the GC and the parks. The shot of him on the roller-coaster with the iconic Surfers Paradise Skyline in the background is clever and used perfectly to let people know that you can come to the GC, do the parks and holiday with plenty of things to do. The beach and water can be seen and that is the Gold Coast major appeal. Take a look at the Destination Gold Coast Video, Gold Coast Airports upcoming campaign, they are all being done the same way and working. If your a brand that wont use an opportunity like this to start pushing a "face" of a theme park, one with history that can be leveraged and a family man, then you need to sack your brand manager. Right now people need gentle reassurance, and this did this in spades. Analyse the video for who its marketed to, family with kids. Not theme park fanatics like us. Its a great video and will capture the market its directed at.

Obligatory "Ooof"

I just find it really interesting that peoples opinions on the various parks seem to switch depending on whichever management pay them some mind. I remember a short time ago everyone was soooo PRO EVERYTHING Movie World did when Greg was there and gave enthusiasts a whole bunch of love, and Dreamworld was the shit park. Now magically one person has some negative FB comment with Bikash and all of a sudden everything Dreamworld do is golden and Village are apparently evil. They are a company that has legal obligation to its shareholders. The management has a responsibility to try and work with the government to get open and making money. Dreamworld are doing the same thing. And if anyone can tell me why the White Rhino Bar in Surfers can have 100 patrons from tomorrow but theme parks would be limited to 20? Why can Qantas now put 180 people next to each other on a plane for 3 hours, but a theatre can seat patrons for a show? Let's be honest, so many social distancing restrictions are being tossed aside right now all over the shop, why shouldn't the parks be working yo when they can reopen? Also last time I checked, having meetings and developing comprehensive COVID Safe plans with the government is hardly bullying.

No Australian debt facilities is correct. May 2016 revenue was only $6 million, so if the park is genuinely losing $5-10 million a month with significantly reduced costs during shutdown and the majority of wages covered by JobKeeper (there's say $1-2 million in costs) then insolvency is what they deserve, pandemic or not. The three options to repair their balance sheet mooted by AFR and echoed by other investment reports suggests they can do three things: sale-and-leaseback (a la VRTP), sell a stake in Main Event or raise equity. We know with certainty that the first two have been on the cards and/or actively pursued by Ardent in recent times.

I didn't mind it, but it might of just been an excuse for Clark to stand heroically on top of Storm.

Just a quick update for Feb at Movie World Green Lantern is closed AA is still closed for no viable activity. It isn’t listed as closed at the parks entrance, but it definitely is Fencing was around the hut for months and now it’s a permanent wall Road Runner closed too Fencing was damaged during the recent floods so it is being repaired

You can read more about those things in the report https://www.ardentleisure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/3.-1H20-esults-Presentation-V10-FINAL.pdf

Glad to hear the future lab is still in the works and they’ve got plenty planned by 2025

Oh, I see, you assume my allegiance lies with *my best friend ( @Slick we still doing that?) and that I hate Bikash solely because he threatened to sue friends of mine for calling him out. I just find it amusing that DW are happy to work with the government and not jump up and down about it on social media or any time there's a camera in their face. Whereas Village, specifically, their management, didn't give a fuck when this whole thing started, even going as far as attacking people in public forums for suggesting they should be taking it seriously. Only taking it seriously after the Government has already stepped in and closed the park. So no, it's not because of some "negative facebook comment" it's because of their whole approach to this entire pandemic and that they are so eager to re-open the parks because of that magic clause that allows them to sell those shares for a higher figure, again, not actually taking the publics health and safety seriously. When there was talks of restrictions being lifted, management weren't seen to be trying to work with the government to come up with a plan, instead just publicly attacking them for not allowing them to instantly resume as normal.

The snarky comment comes from them trying to bully the government to allow them to open even if it's not safe, so they can meet the higher value sale conditions that's currently on the table.